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Thomas Cook

Thomas cook

At Thomas Cook, they promise to do what they can to help – but that doesn’t mean you’ll be walked onto the next available flight.

The airline has a duty office ready to deal with customers who miss their flights and who will talk them through the best alternative travel for them – the airline may arrange for passengers to travel on via another Thomas Cook flight or they also have reciprocal arrangements with other airlines.

A spokesperson said: "We do minimise the cost where we can but the customer does have to pay something. We see what we can do, but it depends on the destination, the frequency of flights, the space available and so on."

If you miss your outbound flight and take another then don’t worry – your return won’t be cancelled with Thomas Cook.

EasyJet

easyJet

This airline actually offers a chance to allay any missed flight anxiety when booking your ticket; you can apply for missed flight cover from just £7.50.

Then, if you miss your flight for any reason, even if that reason is that you overslept, the airline will get you on the next available flight free of charge as long as you show up within four hours.

If that’s not possible for any reason then it will offer a full flight refund. That’s definitely great for your peace of mind but what if you didn't buy the cover?

A spokesperson says that "punctuality is important" and so passengers are asked to be at the gate promptly. Fortunately, if that advice is coming a bit too late then they do offer a cut-price flight.

The spokesperson adds: “We understand that sometimes things happen which mean they are delayed in getting to the airport and we want to help passengers to make their travel easier and so if they arrive at the airport late, but within two hours of their original flight's scheduled departure time, they can transfer to the next available flight for a rescue fee of £80."

Ryanair

Ryanair plane at Cardiff Airport

With Ryanair you might be all right - but you have to let them know fast.

That's because while the missed flight fee is just £100 (a person), which isn't awful, it's only available at less than 40 mins before and up to 1 hour after flight departure time.

The deal is also available to "customers who arrive at the ticket desk up to an hour after their flight departure to move to the next available flight".

British Airways

BA will take good care of you if the airline itself is forced to delay your flight. However, if you miss your flight through your own fault then it may be less genial.

Although BA didn’t respond to our enquiry, many travellers have shared their experiences online, reporting that they did not receive discounted onward travel.

And often it seems that the return section of the flight is cancelled if you don’t show for the outbound leg.

Make sure you ring the bookings line as soon as you miss a BA flight so that you can check if your return journey is affected.

Flybe

Flybe fly to several European destinations from Cardiff

Bad news Flybe fliers. The airline states clearly: “If you do not show up for any flight without advising us in advance, we will cancel your return or onward reservations. However, if you advise us in advance, we will not cancel your subsequent flight reservations.”

So, as always, get in touch with them as soon as possible to make sure your return journey isn’t affected.

Monarch Airlines

This airline clearly states that it cannot accept responsibility for making alternative travel arrangements when a customer misses a flight because they failed to check in on time.

It suggests contacting a travel agent or tour operator, if you booked through one, for advice on getting to your destination. However, if you have missed your flight and are still at the airport, it recommends visiting the Monarch ticket desk, which will let you know the next flight available and its cost.

Before doing that, take a look at the section below on finding the cheapest flights if your airline can’t help.

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Thomson

Pictured is a Thomson Airways aircraft

All Thomson flights are non-refundable if you miss or cancel your flight, simple as.

Virgin Atlantic

Virgin Atlantic has signed a deal with Airbus (Image: Airbus)

Passengers flying with Virgin are likely to need to pay a penalty if they need to reschedule a flight having missed it but the exact amount they will have to cough up depends on their specific terms and conditions when they booked their ticket.

And if that ticket was a return then missing the outbound flight automatically cancels the remainder of your ticket, meaning you will need to contact the airline’s reservations team to re-book the return as a one-way flight.

However, if you miss your flight through something totally beyond your control and which would not have been avoided – say, the public transport services serving the airport completely shut down – then you can apply for a credit for future travel, subject to an admin fee.

But you need to provide proof that you were unavoidably held up, and oversleeping just won’t cut it!

Eastern Airways

The type of ticket you have purchased makes a big difference to how big a disaster missing your flight is with Eastern Airways.

A spokesperson explains: “If a passenger misses their flight and has a fully flexible ticket, they can make a change at no additional cost. Passengers on a restricted ticket would have to purchase a new ticket. If someone has a return ticket and they miss the outbound flight, the return sector would not be affected.

However, if you have a really good reason for being late then it’s worth speaking to them as, in exceptional circumstances such as motorway accidents, they do say they are prepared to use their discretion.

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What if I am delayed by queues?

Probably the most frustrating time to miss a flight is when you think you’ve arrived at the airport in good time but then the queues are so long that you miss it.

Often, airlines are good at funnelling passengers more quickly through check-in if their flights are soon, but it’s not unknown for a traveller to fail to get through in time.

It’s your responsibility to arrive early enough to get through the check-in process, so you should give yourself extra time if it’s during the holiday season or if you know it’s likely to be busy.

Bear in mind that if you’re on a package holiday and you miss the flight because your tour operator doesn’t get you to the airport on time then it is their responsibility to get you onto the next flight.

What about my insurance?

If you’re out of time, out of pocket and out of patience then it might be time to look at whether your insurer will cough up for your missed flights.

Most travel insurance policies will cover missed flights but only on ‘valid claims’. Sadly, a valid claim is unlikely to include losing track of the time in the airport bar.

You should double check what your policy includes, as it varies, but if you are delayed for a reason you can’t control then you may be able to claim.

Get SOMETHING back at least

Yes, there is enough in this article to ensure you don’t sleep at all the night before your flight. But there is some good news.

If you miss your flight you can still reclaim your Air Passenger Duty, that’s the tax all travellers pay to fly from the UK.

That can be as high as £73 on a long-haul economy class flight, or even as much as £146 for first-class fliers.